This invention relates to an assembly for mounting faucets to a sink, countertop or the like without the need for access to the undersink area.
The installation of faucets had typically required that work be performed by lying on one's back in order to reach dark and cramped undercounter areas. As such, mounting systems were developed for attaching faucets to countertops with less need for access to the undersink area. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,557,288 and 4,760,861. Unfortunately, most of these systems left exposed connections visible to the consumer or required the use of additional components.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,749 disclosed a number of faucet assemblies which could be installed from the top of the sink deck. In one embodiment a faucet was provided with a pivotable escutcheon. The faucet was clamped in place on the sink deck by rotating screws having upwardly exposed heads to draw hinge arms tight against the underside of the deck. The escutcheon was then pivoted to cover the exposed heads during normal use of the faucet.
While this system had significant advantages, a force exerted on the escutcheon (e.g. bumping against the escutcheon during cleaning) could cause it to move, thus giving the consumer concern that the faucet was not solidly attached. Furthermore, the escutcheon could rattle if jarred (e.g. if there was water hammer or other vibration in the building).
Thus, a need still exists for an improved top mountable faucet, particularly with respect to systems where the escutcheon is pivotable to hide the attachment.